Salem man charged with sex assault of 6-year-old girl

SALEM — A local man was arrested for sexually assaulting a 6-year-old girl over the course of several months, police said.

Michael Carney, 46, of Orchard Terrace is facing three counts of felonious sexual assault. He is currently free on $5,000 cash bail.

Police say Carney allegedly abused the girl on an ongoing basis between September 2009 and June 2010.

The girl’s mother reported to the police on May 21 that her daughter had been sexually assaulted by Carney, police said.

“This disclosure was made to the girl’s godmother,” Salem police Detective Robert Genest said in the affidavit. The girl was interviewed at the Child Advocacy Center, where she recounted the alleged assaults to a forensic interviewer, police said.

The girl told police that the first assault happened when she was 6 years old and in the first grade. Carney would allegedly assault the girl while visiting her home. He is accused of pulling down his pants in front of the girl and telling her to touch him, according to police. Carney also asked the girl to perform other sexual acts on him, police said.

“(The girl) said that Carney told her not to tell anyone,” Genest said in the affidavit. The girl told police she kept the encounters to herself and did not know why she eventually told her godmother, but felt better when she did, police said. Carney was interviewed by Salem police detectives on June 4 and denied any wrongdoing. Carney agreed to take a polygraph examination, police said. But when he came in for another interview in advance of the polygraph exam on June 11, he refused to take the test, according to police.

Instead, he allegedly spoke to State Police Sgt. Scott Gilbert, who was going to perform the polygraph examination.

“During this interview, Carney admitted to Sgt. Gilbert that on one occasion, during the time period when the assaults were alleged to have occurred,” the girl had touched his genital area, Genest said in the affidavit.

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If you suspect child abuse, call the New Hampshire Division for Children, Youth and Families at 800-894-5533 , or contact your local police.

If you have a question or concern, contact Granite State Children’s Alliance 889-0321 or online at www.cac-nh.org.